Area schools looking at security closely after Sandy Hook tragedy

Fleming getting new security system; Peetz doing safety audit

LOGAN COUNTY --School safety is always on the minds of school district officials, but perhaps more so since the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary a little over a month ago.

Districts in Logan County have responded to the tragedy in different ways.

Sterling

RE-1 Valley School District hasn't made any major changes so far."We're just paying closer attention to the front doors," Superintendent Betty Summers said.

Right now, the front door at every building is the only door unlocked during they day. All visitors are required to sign in at the front office when they enter the school and the schools make sure there is someone up front to see what's going on and direct people when they enter the building.

Additionally, it is the expectation that classroom doors are locked during classes, if something does happen, teachers don't have to rush to get the key to lock the door.

The District Safety Committee is continually discussing school security.

"They're focusing on how to do things differently in our district," Summers said about the committee's work.

The committee includes Student Care and Recovery Team members, as well as representatives from every school -- not necessarily an administrator -- it may be a teacher or school nurse.

There is also representation from a number of local agencies, including the Department of Corrections, Sterling Fire Department, Sterling Police Department, Logan County Sheriff's Office Logan County/Sterling Emergency Management, Centennial Mental Health, Sterling Regional MedCenter and the Northeast Colorado Health Department.

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After the Sandy Hook shooting the committee generated a list of suggestions and looked at things recommended by the Colorado Department of Education. For example, the law enforcement agencies talked about locks on the doors and the possibility of a buzzer system at the front of the school, but Summers noted "problems still happen" with buzzer systems.

She pointed out having all the different agencies involved means the conversations aren't "one-sided." They can talk about whether or not something is a good idea or how it might be modified to work better for schools in Sterling.

"They're good conversations," Summers said.

Just last September, after over two years of planning, the district held a mock drill to test the reunification portion of its Safety Response Plan, a plan developed by the Safety Committee. The drill, which involved area emergency response agencies, tested the district's plan to reunite students with parents in the event of an evacuation.

Merino

Safety procedures are similar for Buffalo RE-4J schools, in Merino.

The front door is the only one way in and out of the schools and visitors must check in at the front office. Superintendent Rob Sanders said they've also gotten rid of all their metal keys and are using electronic card readers at several places around the schools.

There has been some discussion about putting a buzzer at the secretary's desk.

"I think we're in a relatively good position," Sanders said, noting that other area schools are coming to their district to look at what they're doing in regards to safety.

Fleming

School security was a topic of discussion at the Frenchman RE-3 Board of Education's meeting earlier this month. At that meeting the board approved moving forward with the installation of a complete access control system. With the new system all staff will receive a coded card, which will provide access and act as their ID card.

Right now, all outside doors except the main front door, are locked at 8 a.m. and remain locked during the school day. Various teachers whose rooms are near outside doors are responsible for monitoring those doors during student passing time, to make sure they remain locked during the school day.

Additionally, four video cameras have been installed at specific locations for monitoring purposes.

The district plans to have further discussions regarding school security improvements.

Peetz

Just last summer Peetz Plateau School District installed a new security system, part of the building project funded by a voter-approved mill levy. The system requires all visitors to be buzzed in at the front door and includes card keys on exterior access doors, video surveillance and door censors that allow staff to know when doors have been propped open.

They school has been having staff meetings about being more vigilant and they've been working to make sure students and staff remember that only the front office can let people in.

There has also been discussion and the district has gotten an attorney's opinion about possibly having one or two people in the school get trained to carry a weapon, since the school is so far away from law enforcement.

"At this point I can't imagine we'll do it right now," Dutton said.

One of the biggest things the district is doing right now is hiring someone to do a safety audit.

"We're going to have someone come in that can say, 'What you have in place is really good or here are some things that you need to do better,'" Dutton said.

"Right now we're just determining what needs to be changed and then we'll look at how to change it."

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